starworlds: December 2007

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Astro Weather December 2007

December begins with an interesting mutual exchange between Mercury in Scorpio and a retrograding Mars in Gemini. As these planets are not of the same camp, the energy is somewhat uncomfortable. Mars in Gemini tends to activate our desires on a mental level, and when retrograde it manifests more internally. Perhaps we are dwelling on things that aren't working quite the way we want them to, but the retrograde action might make us less likely to act -- at least until it goes stationary direct on January 30, 2008. Mercury in Scorpio likes to go deep, especially on a psychological level. It may bring up repressed issues, especially in the realms that Scorpio influences, such as the underworld, sex, death, war, and ultimately spiritual transformation; or it could bring up solutions from the deep by means of quick insight, intuitive strategy, or revolutionary research. Mercury is a fast moving planet and changes signs by December 17, 2007 when it joins Jupiter in Sagittarius at the galactic center in opposition to the retrograding Mars. At this time the insights gained during its sojourn through Scorpio might be questioned, but its position with the philosophical giant Jupiter grants the bigger picture.

New Moon December 9, 2007
The new Moon in its sign of debilitation, Scorpio, falls in the nakshatra of Jyestra. There is a nice synchronicity of themes between the Mars-Mercury exchange and this new moon in Jyestra, as Scorpio is ruled by Mars and Jyestra is ruled by Mercury. When a theme is repeated in various combinations, it is like a big arrow or exclamation point signifying an important message.

Jyestra means the "eldest" or "most senior." Some scholars suggest that originally there were only 18 nakshtras and Jyestra was the last. I believe it may also have a deeper astronomical reference, like the oldest part of our galaxy. It precedes Mula, which means "root" and the home of the galactic center. It is the last step before we come back to a rebirth at the root, or Vishnuabi, Vishnu's belly button, the center from which our entire galaxy grew (see previous posts for more on Vishnuabi).

Jyestra consists of three stars, including the bright red star Antares, which means "rival of Mars" because it was sometimes confused with the red planet. Its connection to the god of war may be in part to the energy, or shakti, conferred by this asterism: arahana shakti, the power to rise, conquer, and give courage in battle. The deity associated with Jyestra is Indra, the god of war and weather whose weapons are the thunderbolt, bow, net and hook. His most notable battle was with the asura Vritra, a terrible dragon, who stole all the water of the world for himself. After a mighty battle, Indra sliced open the asura releasing all the hoarded water, and thus he became known as a dragon slayer. The theme of snakes and dragons is also represented in Jyestra's symbol, an earring or circular talisman. Both of these objects are reminiscent of the ouroboros, a coiled snake consuming its tail, representing ideas of circularity, unity, and infinity. Another alternate symbol for this nakshatra is an umbrella, and suggests it gives shelter from the elements of rain, wind and sun -- natural forces under the command of Indra.

Astronomically Jyestra also aligns with a mass of dark dust clouds that mark the early borders of the galactic center. This Dark Rift or Serpent's mouth is part of the constellation Ophiucus, the serpent holder. Historically Ophiucus was also known as the 13th Astrological Sign. Interesting that it is also seen as the "eldest" sign in Western as well as Vedic traditions. Johannes Kepler depicted an allegorical and astronomical Ophiucus in the drawing posted above. Ophiucus is also know as the location of the last visible supernova witnessed and documented by astronomers like Kepler in 1604, at the end of the 12 baktun, and beginning of the last and 13th baktun of the Mayan Calendar that ends in 2012.

Many ancient traditions associate this area of the night sky as a significant portal to change. In the drawing from a Pictish sculpture (ancient north Britain), a snake may represent the Milky Way, with its axis marked by two phallic poles. Notice how one points down, and one points up. Could this be alluding to the ascent and descent of consciousness as defined by the Great Year?

The reference to serpent bearers, or torch bearers is also seen in the Mithraic tradition, a Roman mystery cult of warriors. Mithras was a warrior god also connected to Ophiucus. Images depict him slaying a cosmic bull surrounded by astrological symbols that reveal his power over time and the heavens. Notice the two torch bearers in the Roman fresco of Mithras slaying the cosmic bull. Their torches have replaced the phallic poles, but they mark the same place in space as the Pictish symbols.

Ancient Vedic seers recognized this place in space as a marker for shifts in consciousness. Like the solstice cycles, it marks a galactic cycle pointing to a time of darkness before the return of the light, perhaps as some 2012 enthusiasts suggest a time of shifting from Kali Yuga to Satya Yuga. See what comes up with this new moon, and release any shadow issues in preparation for a full moon that will be aligned with the galactic center and 4 other planets.

Full Moon December 23, 2007
During the Full Moon on December 23rd, the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Pluto with be aligned along the Milky Way axis with the full Moon and Mars in Gemini. There is a polarization of "spiritual" planets (Sun, Jupiter, Mercury) versus "willful" or emotional planets (Moon, Mars, Pluto). Where do you fall between the two? Or are you in the process of integrating these aspects of self? This full moon may reveal how our desire and will are aligned -- or not aligned-- with galactic consciousness.

The emotional energy of the Full Moon in Gemini in the nakshatra Ardra is heightened due to its conjunction with desire-driven Mars. Ardra's symbol is the human head and represents the emphasis on the mind and thinking. Its primary motivation is kama, desire, and its power is yatna shakti, or effort. Ardra is connected with intense activity, passionate thinking, enthusiasm and an urge for expansion. The combination of this Ardra Full Moon with a retrograding Mars indicates there will be a lot of thinking about what we want. And as Ardra is ruled by the planet of obsession, Rahu, we may want more than is realistically possible. A recently retrograding Saturn in Leo could bring in some disappointment if we are not aligned with "right" understanding, ie. universal energies.

Ardra consists of several of the stars of Orion, including Betelgeuse and the fixed star Sirius, which some scholars believe is a companion star to our own sun in a binary system. In a lovely rendering of channeled initiations, Virginia Essene and Irving Feurst reveal the energetic blessings of seven major stars. As conscious beings and/or spiritual masters, each star transmits wisdom and knowledge to the Earth. They describe Betelgeuse as offering the blessing of Expanded Soul Awareness and Sirius the blessings of amplified and glorified Christ Consciousness (for those of you who like me bristle at using "Christ" Consciousness, they also use Universal Love). As this full moon occurs in between the winter solstice and Christmas eve, perhaps we will glimpse the true meaning and importance of this time of year, when the Milky Way rises aligning the galactic center with our Sun.

Namaste!

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Aum saraswateye vidmahe, bramputriye dhi-mahi, tanno sarawati prachodayat

Saraswati is the Goddess of leaming, knowledge, and wisdom. The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self." Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the self." Saraswati is represented in Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the universe. Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswati symbolizes the creative power of Brahma. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially students, teachers, scholars, and scientists.

What is the Difference between Vedic and Western Astrology: 23 Degrees, Nakshatras, and Sidereal

Twenty-three is my quick answer to the question: "what is the difference between Vedic Astrology and Western astrology?" I don't mean to be cryptic, but 23 degrees is literally the difference between the Tropical and Sidereal zodiacs. It is called the Ayanamsha -- in Sanskrit ayana meaning solstice and amsha meaning portion -- and it refers to the difference between Tropical and Sidereal zodiacs.

The zodiac is a ring of constellations often referred to as signs, such as Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio and Taurus. It is a cosmic clock around which our solar systems operates and how astrologers measure cycles of time. Most people do not realize that there are two distinct zodiacs. Vedic astrologers use the Sidereal zodiac and Western astrologers use the Tropical zodiac. The Sidereal zodiac is based on observations of planets lining up against the backdrop of the fixed stars. It is oriented to the center of the galaxy. On the other hand, the Tropical zodiac is based on the relationship between the sun and earth. It is oriented to the equinoxes. In Western astrology the spring equinox sets the beginning of the Tropical zodiac at 1 degree Aries, even though the sun is astronomically traveling in the light fields of Pisces. In other words, it does not correspond to observable position. Vedic astrology is called Jyotisha in Sanskrit, meaning the science of light, and Vedic astrology describes how the light emitted from the stars effects us. When Western astrology was in its early stages, the two zodiacs may have lined up; but over time the two moved apart approximately 50 seconds per year to the current 23 degrees of separation (even that number is debated, but the standard of India, the Lahiri ayanamsha is 23 degrees 10 seconds).

Vedic astrology is considered by scholars to pre-date Western astrology and is the only system that has accounted for the precession of the equinoxes. What is the precession of the equinoxes? The answer to that involves another occurrence of the number 23 (those familiar with the enigma of 23, like LOST and RAW fans, may find this amusing). Because Earth's axis is tilted 23° 27' in its orbit around the sun, its equatorial plane is tilted with respect to the ecliptic plane, the plane created by Earth's orbit. These two intersecting planes create an intersecting line called the vernal axis that occurs on the first day of spring, or Vernal equinox. As the Earth spins on its axis, its axis wobbles (precesses 50.3 seconds of arc per year or 1 degree every 71.6 years) very slowly over a period of about 24,000 to 26,000 years. As this occurs, the pole of the Earth inscribes an arc in the heavens called the precessional arc. The Earth's pole aligns with different stars throughout the precessional period. The current pole star is Polaris. Approximately 13,000 year ago it was Vega, one of my favorite stars. Earth's precessional cycle is also referred to as Earth's Great Year in the alchemical tradition, World Ages, or Yugas in the Vedas. David Frawley describes it a one year in the life of humanity.

In Vedic astrology there is a line of thought that suggests this 24,000-26,000 cycle (and even wobble of the earth itself) maybe be generated by a grand cycle of our sun with a companion dark star. Modern astronomy is studying this possibility as well. The ancient Vedic seers divided up the cycle into four world ages: the Satya(Truth or Golden), Treta (Third or Silver), Dwapara (Third or Bronze) and Kali (first or Iron) Ages. Each age describes a stage of awareness for mankind in which consciousness ascends, descends, and ascends in unending cycles perhaps due to the influence of this yet to be discovered companion star. Although New Age philosophers have described humanity as entering the Age of Aquarius, astronomically speaking that will not happen for approximately 300-400 years.

According to Vedic thought, the cycles of ascending and descending consciousness are connected not only to our rotation around a companion star, but also our cycle around the galactic center. According to David Frawley, "Vedic astrology orients the zodiac to the galactic center, or the central galactic sun, whose influence comes to us through fixed stars of the constellation Sagittarius." The galactic center is like our cosmic belly button -- it is sometimes called Vishnunabhi, or the navel of Vishnu-- the point from which our galaxy grew and expanded. Many ancient cultures studied and recorded their observations about this area of the night sky, including the Mayans whose calendar marks an astronomical event of our winter solstice aligning with the galactic center in 2012. It's like the earth's pole or antenna will be aligned and open to receive message from the source itself. [H]ohm is calling.

One of the most brilliant developments of the ancient Vedic seers was to further divide the zodiac into more identifiable parts. They did this by creating the Nakshatra system. In Sanskrit Nakshatra means lunar mansion. As the moon travels through the entire zodiac in 27-28 days, the ancient seers ascribed a Nakshatra for each day simplifying its location. Although too vast a subject to go into in this post, it is interesting to point out that the name for the Nakstratra that marks the galactic center is Mula, meaning root or source.

Another difference between Western and Vedic astrology is the modern use of non-observable planets and asteroids. As a Neo-Vedic astrologer I do consider some of the outer planets when I look at a chart, but I tend to be more interested in the fixed stars and Nakshatras. I marvel at how Western astrologers bring in new astronomical discoveries to their chart interpretations. Basically I see Western charts as a map of the same terrain as a Vedic chart, but indicating different types or levels of information. It's like comparing a topological map with a road map. I don't need to know the difference of elevation between Broadway and 3rd Avenue, but I might like to know the street number of Benaroya Hall. It all depends on what type of information one is seeking. Vedic astrologers come from a tradition and philosophy that focuses on the four aims of life: dharma (purpose), arthra (attainment), kama (desire),and the most important moksha (liberation). Western astrology is enriched by many diverse traditions and the information gleaned from it may be quite extensive and more suited for the modern mind. But for me, I've always been drawn to the stars in the night sky and have felt them speak to me in the language of light. And as Jyotisha is the science of light, it is the tool and filter I use to translate this information.

For a good video overview on precession click here.